Consumer Influence.ppt

Consumer Influence Word-of-Mouth Communication Opinion Leadership Diffusion of Innovations Word-of-Mouth Communication Discussions among consumers regarding marketplace issues. A pattern of social communication. Referral networks. Spontaneous. Negative WOM weighted more heavily by consumers than positive WOM. Marketing Implications of WOM Discourage negative WOM. Refute rumors. Stimulate additional direct sales through WOM. Simulate WOM in advertising. Opinion Leadership WOM communication involves consumers who seek and who give information. How Does Opinion Leadership Work? Multistep Flow of Communication Theory Opinion Leaders are... Technically competent--expert power. Credible--unbiased opinions. Socially active and interconnected in their communities. Similar to other consumers--referent power. Among the first to buy new products. Highly involved with certain products. Highly involved with messages about certain products. Self-confident. Differentiated from others and choose to act differently--public individuation. Opinion Leaders share information because they need... To reduce perceived risks associated with their purchases. To talk about products with which they’re highly involved. To share what they know. Profile of Opinion Leaders Methods of Measuring Opinion Leadership Self-designating method Respondents’ perceptions Most commonly used method Subjective method Sociometric method Members of a social system identify opinion leaders and seekers for a product category. Great degree of validity Very costly and complex--better with self-contained group. Key informant method Carefully selected informants in a social system are asked to designate opinion leaders. Relatively inexpensive and less time-consuming Requires informants who are thoroughly familiar with the social system. Objective method Artificially places individuals in a position to act as opinion leaders and measures results of their efforts. Controlled experiments Marketing Implications Design